38 Week Pregnancy Update

It is crazy to think that at this point, our baby could come any day. I am definitely done being pregnant, but I feel nowhere near ready for this baby to come. I feel pretty confident that I have at least another week to get things ready and I have been working hard trying to get my house in order and all of the last minute things done before she comes. I have been so exhausted lately but I am pushing through it because I know I will be even more tired after I have the baby. I deep cleaned the carpets, cleaned my bedroom (even my closet), cleaned Annalyn's room, and today I am working on Brynlee's room. Next up is the kitchen and the laundry room. Plus I want to scrub the bathrooms really well. We will see if I can get it all done. I took the girls shopping yesterday and we got diapers and all the other essentials we will need but we still don't have a car seat. I ordered one online so hopefully it will get here soon.

Joel is going to take three days off of work when our baby arrives so that will be good. The girls must be sensing that a change is coming soon because they have been super naughty lately. They keep fighting with each other and Brynlee has been really whiney and defiant. Annalyn keeps crawling all around the house pretending to be either a baby or a kitty and she keeps telling me that she is a baby. The last few times I tried to take my kids somewhere they were terrible. I think we might be staying at home for a long time after we have this baby.

As for me, I feel tired and it is really hard to get around but I am still doing fairly good. I have even been able to keep my wedding ring on this whole time, although I had to take off my wedding band months ago. This baby has not been hanging out so high up in my ribs lately so I have had a lot less heartburn. That has been a huge relief. I can tell she is running out of room in there though and she keeps getting in some really uncomfortable positions. It has been getting hot around here so I am very grateful that Joel put in our swamp cooler and he fixed the air conditioning in our van. Now I don't have to drive everywhere with the windows wide open and my hair blowing all over the place. I am hot all the time, even when everyone else is fine. Joel loves sleeping with the fan on so he loves it when I want it blowing on us all night. I am now making weekly trips to see the midwife. Their is a lady from my ward who has been watching the girls for me the last few appointments so I haven't had to take them with me. Both of the girls love going over there so they have really enjoyed that. Although, now I don't even have to leave a urine sample every time. Apparently there is new research showing that it is unnecessary to do it, unless there is a problem. I am very grateful to report that everything looks good, we are now just going to play the waiting game and try to keep guessing when she will come. And now, here you can have a look at me and my growing belly. Plus my two older girls that couldn't resist jumping in to take a few pictures with me.

What I Believe

I have been working on this post for a long time now. I really want to document my testimony and what I believe; mainly for my girls so they know what is really important to me. It is hard to put something so important to me into words. I grew up in the LDS church as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For as long as I can remember I have been going to this church and I love the gospel and the things my church teaches. I was happily baptized into the church when I was eight years old. I loved going to primary (the class for children) and I felt so much joy and happiness when I lived by the standards and sang the songs I learned at church.

My family - I am the oldest child. 

The feelings of joy when I went to church is the main reason I went to church when I was younger. I loved going and I believed what was taught to me wholeheartedly. And then as I grew up I started to get questions about my beliefs from other people. I began to realize that most people didn't believe the same things I did. I had to make a choice. In my freshman year of high school, several people questioned my beliefs which really made me step back and take a look at the things I believed. Were they really true? I turned to the scriptures and prayed and I really tried to study the gospel. If I was going to defend the teaching of the gospel, I realized I needed a deeper understanding of what was taught. I prayed, I read, and whenever I did I felt that deep feeling of joy and happiness. Every once in a while there would be something or someone who would come along and shake my testimony. But I would keep praying and eventually I would feel that peace again and I would gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for what I believe. I am not a gospel scholar by any means, but I try to read and learn about the gospel a little more each day. The more I learn, the more I want everything that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer. I believe it with all my heart and I know it is true because I have felt the small whispering of the Holy Ghost telling me to keep going, comforting me, and guiding me in my life.

Our church is a church that believes in Jesus Christ, and in our Heavenly Father. As a member, I try really hard to follow the example of Jesus. It is not easy and I am not perfect, that is why we have repentance. There are many members of my church that don't follow all of the teachings of the church and several times outsiders will look at them and think badly of the church. I hope that I can set a good example and show love to everyone, no matter what their beliefs are. If you want to know more about what I believe, I would be happy to answer any questions or you can go to LDS.org. The church and what it teaches is a huge part of my life and I am so grateful for my testimony and for the comfort that I find in the teaching.

Quotes from my Girls

My girls sure are growing. The keep me entertained all the time. I lost my paper where I write down all of the quotes said by my kids say so I am going to write down all of the ones I remember before I forget them. Hopefully I can find my paper and remember some more later.

Brynlee

The other day when we were in the car Brynlee looked at me and asked; "mom, are you a kid?"
"No, I am not a kid." I responded.
"Well I kind of think you are a kid because yesterday when we went to Chunky Cheese you got lost."
We went to a birthday party for one of Brynlee's friends at Chucky Cheese and I missed the turn and had to turn around. Brynlee was quite distressed that we would miss the party when that happened but we still made it there on time. I tried to explain that just because I didn't go the right way the first time, I was still a grown up but I don't think Brynlee bought it.

Here is another conversation I had with Brynlee in the van.
B: "Hey mom. Do you wanna know what I am eating?"
Me: "What are you eating?"
B: "It is something I found in my eye."
Me: "Ewwww, that's gross Brynlee. Don't eat it."
B: "It tasted good."

While we were playing in the front yard one day we discovered a dead mouse that one of the stray cats probably brought into our yard. I made Brynlee leave it alone. When her dad got home she ran outside and then walked in a few minutes later exclaiming, "mom, guess what, I squished that dead mouse with my shoe. I squished it really hard like this." She then demonstrated how she squished the mouse.

The other day we were at my sister's house. Heather was wearing these pants with holes in them. Brynlee looked at her pants and told her; "You better not let anyone see those pants Heather, that would be embarrassing."

Lately anytime we tell Brynlee she can't so something or if we get onto her for anything her response is "Mom/Dad, you broke my heart. You just really broke my heart."

Brynlee is convinced that every single person who comes to our house cannot leave without getting a kiss and a hug from her. She is really distressed when she forgets to do this. Every time Brynlee does it, Annalyn does it too. Brynlee's friends were over here the other day and she not only gave her friends a kiss and a hug, she gave their mom one too. Annalyn looked at me and said, "I want to kiss the mommy!" Then she ran over for a hug and a kiss. Even in Primary Brynlee kept kissing her teacher and giving her hugs. I am glad she is affectionate; I just wish is wasn't with every random person she meets. When we left after my doctor's appointment last time she was disappointed that she didn't get a hug and kiss from my midwife.

At the last doctor's appointment the girls went to with me, we got to meet the new midwife that just moved here from the UK. She talked with a thick accent and Brynlee just looked at her and said, "I think you look kind of funny." I was completely embarrassed that she said that. I couldn't see any reason that she looked funny.
The midwife just looked at Brynlee and said, "why do I look funny."
"It's because you kind of talk funny."
Luckily my midwife just laughed it off. Brynlee then complimented her on her beautiful fingernail polish on her fingers so that made up for it a little bit. When we went out to the waiting room Brynlee found this couple in there with a tiny newborn baby. Brynlee ran up, peeked in the car seat, looked at the couple and told them, "Ummm, I really like your cute born baby."
You gotta love little kids. They just say what they think.

Annalyn

Annalyn loves to help me, especially when I am cooking in the kitchen. Several weeks ago while I was making dinner Annalyn really wanted to help me so I had her help set the table. She is actually pretty good at it. After I gave her all the plates, forks, and cups to put on the table, she wanted more things to take so I gave her the butter and the peanut butter. When I went over to check on her I discovered that she had put a huge helping of butter on two of the plates. I snapped a quick picture of her and then went to wash off the plates. Most of them were still stacked up in a pile. When I went to unstack them I discovered that these stacked plates had more butter on them than the other ones did. She covered them in butter and then she stacked them back up. If I hadn't gotten there sooner she would have put peanut butter on everyone's plate too. Just what we wanted to eat.

Annalyn loves to play outside and she is constantly trying to sneak out there. The other evening Joel was working outside so I let the girls out there with him while I cleaned up dinner. Apparently Annalyn was determined to catch our white chicken and she chased that thing all the way in the neighbors field where she found a huge mud puddle and she fell in and was covered in mud up to her waist. Joel ran over to save her but he said she didn't start crying until she got her hand dirty. Even when he brought her in to me she was still crying that her hand was dirty. Joel stripped her into her diaper and shirt while she was outside and everything he gave me was completely caked in mud.

Annalyn went through a really weird sock stage where she wouldn't wear socks on her feet but she insisted on wearing them on her hands. She kept raiding her sock drawer and she would come out with a pair of socks on her hands. She would get really mad if I tried to take them off of her. She even colored, ate, and played with her toys with them on. I am glad she hasn't done that in a while. I hate folding socks.

Lately Annalyn gets really mad when it isn't her turn to say the prayer. Most of the time she will try to say it anyways or she will repeat everything the person who is praying says. If she is listening to a prayer that she feels is too long, and at the end of each of her prayers she says "Christ, Ah-MEN." The amen part is always said very loudly and with lots of enthusiasm.

Lately Annalyn has started singing all the time. She sings in the car, in her bed during nap time, in the bath and even in the grocery cart at the store. It seriously cracks me up. She sings with so much gusto and hand movements. One of her favorite songs is the "Let it Go" song from the movie frozen but she knows several songs and she picks up on the word very quickly. Sometimes she just spins around and around in the living room with her little hand outstretched while she sings her little heart out.